Online athleisure wear brand raises $7 million; plans to expand, open pop-up

As consumers continue to embrace athleisure wear, retail startups are clamoring to bust into the multi-billion dollar industry. Outdoor Voices – a chic athleisure wear brand for men and women, founded by 27-year-old designer and CEO Tyler Haney in 2012 – is doing a fine job of getting its foot in the door.



The company has attracted $7 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst and Forerunner Ventures, and plans on opening a 1,800-sq.-ft. pop-up store in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood, at 199 Lafayette Street, in November, Crain’s reported. The temporary location will also be a space for group activities, such as jogging clubs and group dog walks. .



According to the report, the capital raised is expected to be used toward hiring additional staff (it currently has 25 employees), including a COO; increase its assortment of merchandise and expand its retail presence. With only one brick-and-mortar store, located in Austin, Texas, it’s eyeing more fitness-centric spots in the United States for physical retail store expansion and plans to have three permanent stores open by the end of 2016.



"The number one thing is that having a physical presence dramatically increases the traffic from that region online," Haney told Fashionista.com. "Texas is like two times what we would expect from that region because of Austin."



Outdoor Voices is headquartered in both Austin, Texas, and New York City. To date, Outdoor Voices has raised $9.5 million in funding.